As a customer, you want to know that when you begin looking for a holiday, you’re looking in the right places. Unfortunately these days, it’s very difficult to tell the difference between a genuine site, or quality ad, and a fake site of fraudulent ad.
Fortunately, the internet allows communities to form so that people can give recommendations or warnings, also these are quite a few tools available which can help you assess if a site is safe.
On this page, we will start to list good sites that offer protection against fraud. At the bottom of the page, we’ll also list the sites to avoid.
I want to add that no site can offer a 100% guarantee against fraud – they can do their very best but it is up to the individual to be sensible with their money and financial information.
We would love to hear your recommendations for the safest holiday rental websites to book your accommodation through.
Holiday Rentals Sites
Airbnb – This vacation rental site is fairly well known by people around the world and the company has taken big steps in trying to prevent some holiday villa fraud. Their ID verification scheme runs thorough checks on the identity of people who list on their site. At the moment they don’t check every advertiser, as it’s an optional scheme – but advertisers who run the check and pass it receive an ID badge on their property advert, which means that the person you are booking with is genuine, and not a fraudster.
HomeAway – A site offering recuperative measures.
The HomeAway site offers a money-back guarantee if on arrival you realize the accommodation is not available, or decide the accommodation is not as described in the advert (presumably, the accommodation being non-existent would suffice!). The refund is offered if you do not stay at the property, and can not get a refund from the person renting to you.
HomeAway offers a ‘carefree rental guarantee’ which you can pay for. This payment is essentially an insurance payment that protects you against property misrepresentation, foreclosure, or non-existence!
It offers a free rental guarantee against internet fraud meaning you can claim 50% back.
Do’s and Don’ts
How to avoid villa scams…
Do
- Use reputable sites to find and book villas.
- Try and speak to the owner on the phone, not just via email.
- Some background research on the property and owner – is the same property elsewhere under a different name? Does the property exist?
- Pay by a traceable, trustworthy method. (Credit Card is best but unlikely, Paypal is good, Cheque and Bank Transfer are common but are less recoverable.)
Don’t
- Hand over any money without having full contact details of the owner.
- Hand over any money without a contract.
- Pay in full, upfront – expect only to put a deposit.
- Pay via untraceable money payment.
Sites to avoid
Craigslist – This site is well known for being a scam hot spot. I should add, this is not the fault of the site at all, it’s just a side effect of the service they provide. Craigslist offer their own warnings and advice about fraud.
Gumtree – Again this site in itself is a decent site for posting free ads, and obviously there are a lot of genuine rental ads on there – but as it is a free site it’s the first place fraudsters are likely to go to list a fraudulent holiday homes – so be extremely wary if you decide to use gumtree to find a holiday rental.
In fact, any sites offering free listings and not verifying the owner or property are risky places to organize a holiday.
Holiday Villa Fraud
There have been a lot of ‘scare stories’ about villa holiday rental scams, but you must remember that the news is not a reflection of reality – it’s an industry designed to compel readers/viewers, so they hype things up.
While there might be some risk of holiday villa fraud, in general, holiday villa rentals are safe. This site aims to inform you about the reality and not the hype!
What is holiday villa fraud?
The term ‘Holiday villa fraud’ covers a range of issues, including fraudulent owners, fraudulent customers, and scams that may be played on you as a holiday homeowner, or a holidaymaker using a holiday home.
Some examples of fraud:
- ‘Fake’ holiday homes. – Somebody creates a non-existent home to gather money for bookings which can not be fulfilled.
- ‘Fake’ holidaymakers. – A fraudster engages with a home-owner acting as a holidaymaker but has malicious intent.
- ‘Fake’ holiday home listing sites. – A web-site promising to promote your holiday home, for a fee, but which then dissapears along with the money paid.
How can you keep safe?
Common sense can get you a long way – think before you act, and check out a situation before you get into it. We hope that we can offer you help as much as possible, but in the end, it is down to you to be sensible.
Payment Method Advice For Renting A Holiday Villa
So you’ve found that dream villa and realized what a great saving you’re going to makeover a hotel by booking directly with the owner.
You want to relax now and look forward to going away, but how can you feel relaxed and safe about paying for your holiday villa rental?
There are various forms of payment each offering various levels of protection. Depending on the owner, some payment forms may be unavailable. Genuine owners may still offer limited options so don’t be put off if they don’t accept credit cards.
Bank Transfer – This is a legitimate form of payment but makes sure that the recipient’s name matches the person you have been dealing with. You can ask the bank to verify that the account name matches the name you were given if not this is a warning sign. If the nationality of the bank raises suspicious this is also a place to be cautious.
Western Union Payment – This is a very common way of transferring money but it’s also one of the most heavily abused by scammers – money isn’t traceable and Western Union branches often deal in cash – Western Union is not recommended.
Paypal Payment – Paypal is a part of eBay – they are very large a reputable. Payments made via Paypal are also protected for 45 days so you can go back to Paypal telling them about the fraud if you take your trip within 45 days of paying. Paypal also allows you to pay by credit card.
However, you still need to be careful especially when you are using Paypal to make a large transaction (or frankly for any transaction). You have zero protection despite their laughable “protection policies” and Paypal are NOT a reputable company. You only have to spend 2 minutes on the internet to see that!
My friend has recently been defrauded of £1850 because the holiday villa that they hired was totally uninhabitable when they arrived. The owner promised a refund then never responded again. Paypal rejected the compliant for no reason and Barclaycard was also absolutely useless. Therefore, you are warned to beware of Paypal.
Credit Card – Whether via Paypal or in some rare instances, direct with the owner, credit card payments offer the most protection. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act means that there is protection on most payments of £100 and above made by credit card.
Cheque – Cheques are useful because they need to be sent to a physical address so you can determine if the address is suspicious or not. Do not send cheques to anonymous P.O. Boxes.